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Throughout her life, Pascack Valley sophomore Emma Stankus has never been on a airplane. Although she is nervous, she is excited to go be going to Jamaica on Dec. 13.

Stankus is visiting Jamaica from Dec. 13 to 17 to volunteer in a mission trip with Tiny Hope Children’s Home. Tiny Hope Children’s Home is an orphanage that rescues and raises abused children in the name of religion. It was inspired by a little girl in Jamaica, whose nickname was Tiny. It provides shelter, food, necessities, education, and work for those in need.

Stankus will be serving several areas in Jamaica like St. Anne’s Infirmary and hosting Christmas festivals. For her trip, Stankus has been collecting donations for the children of Tiny Hope.

The PV volunteer club, JAC, has been helping her collect donations. There is a box in room 211 for collections. Items that can be donated are new soccer balls, dolls, small toiletries, new and used cleats of any kind, etc.

“This is an opportunity for us to support one of our own who’s doing something so great,” Tina Marchiano, PV English teacher and advisor of JAC, said. “They developed the opportunity for so many people in our community to be able to give to the less fortunate.”

Stankus was first introduced to Tiny Hope in middle school. For Girl Scouts, she collected school supplies for Tiny Hope since her aunt and uncle founded it. This trip is now an extension of her project she did for Girl Scouts.

“I’m really excited for the trip,” Stankus said. “I feel like it would add a lot of closure to what I did in the seventh grade, because I never got to see the impact of what I did.”

She is hoping to go on more mission trips in the future, but is unsure, because she wants to save up for college.

Her father, James Stankus, will also be attending this Christmas mission trip with her.

“I got this a little bit of nervousness and excitement about the trip, and I’m also interested,” he said. “The first hand conditions over there mean, you know, you see pictures and things in the news about, you know, like like third world conditions, but it never really I guess it never really sinks in until you actually experience it so it’ll be interesting.”

He hopes this trip will spread awareness of what other people are going through and the world.

“I hope more students get involved in things like this, because it opens up awareness of the world,” he said. “And hopefully by her experience and passing it on to others will increase our awareness and a new understanding of different people.”